Outside of Make Believe
by waffledynasty
Summary: The last thing Santana Lopez expected when her parents forced her to move to some small town in Ohio was seeing Brittany Pierce again. AU.
1. Love The Way You Lie

**A/N:**

**I really tried to focus on one thing at a time. I _really_ did but then I'm like... fuck the bullshit I don't feel like writing this, _what is this even?!_ Then my imagination just goes akdnfamfd and I start typing out the stuff playing around in my head and… boom, done. This one definitely isn't meant to be short and light like _Feel It In My Bones_. I'm not one for too much angst or drama so this is as close as I'll get. ****Reviews are greatly appreciated. **

* * *

"You've got to be kidding me." Santana groaned out, rolling her eyes as they came to a stop in front of what she assumed was to be her new high school. Her dark gaze swept over the modest building, far from impressed. Her old school had been almost triple the size. She turned to her mother, features set somewhere between aggravated and pleading. "Tell me your kidding. That this is just some stupid ploy to get me to apologize. I'm sorry, _Mami_. There, I said it. Can we go _home_ now?"

The older woman remained stone faced, a hint of a frown at her full lips. A slight crease at her brows and something akin to disappointment swimming in her brown eyes. "We've discussed this, Santana. Your father and I believe this is for the best, this _is_ home now."

Santana scoffed, her expression darkening. This wasn't home. Their beach house in California was home. One _little_ mistake and her parents suddenly decided to move from California to Ohio. Not just Ohio but some small middle of nowhere town Santana had never even heard of. _Lima_, Ohio. Not only was she forced to move across the country for her little indiscretion; her parents also deigned it necessary to take away her precious motorcycle. So what if her license was currently suspended and wouldn't be reinstated for another three months. It wasn't like they couldn't bail her out again. They weren't exactly lacking in the funds department with her mother being a highly sought after lawyer and her father a heart surgeon.

"Whatever." She shoved open the car door, the twinge of pain in her shoulder reminding her that she wasn't supposed to be putting any kind of pressure on it. She winced as the pain seared its way down her arm. It wasn't even her fault. That fucking idiot just had to piss her off. She wouldn't have crashed her bike and ended up in this shit hole town if it wasn't for that bastard.

Mrs. Lopez sighed. "Your father will be here to pick you up after school."

Santana rolled her eyes at the reminder. Another awkward, silent car ride with her father was _exactly_ what she needed. "I'm sure he's looking forward to it as much as I am."

"Santana." Her mother shot her an admonishing look. "You know this is all for your own-"

With another roll of her eyes, the dark haired teen turned away. Slamming the door and marching toward the school entrance. How in the hell was this for her own good! Like forcing her to move to a new school in a completely different state part way into the first semester was going to change anything. Santana pushed through the doors of the main office, an irritated scowl across her face. Getting her schedule from the lady at the front desk probably would have been a lot easier if she hadn't accused the woman of being a stupid cow after three unsuccessful attempts of the ingrate trying to pronounce her name. She also would have made it to third period if she hadn't spent the time in the school counselor's office with some doe eyed red head. The woman clearly had no idea what she was doing thus the entire session was spent with Santana glaring and the counselor shifting uncomfortably in her seat. When the bell rang for fourth period, the red head was quick to usher Santana out with some lame statement about how much progress they'd made.

Fourth period went by without any issues. The teacher seemed to care less about the new transfer student he'd acquired and spent the entire period facing the chalkboard. Writing mathematical equations across the board while the students practically fell asleep at their desks. She caught a few curious glances in her direction. A few leers from what she assumed were jocks, if the cliché letterman jackets were anything to go by. There were also the envious glares from a few girls decked out in cheerleading outfits. The display made her want to pull her hair out or throttle someone. It was just her luck that she ended up in a school full of idiots who were set on modeling their high school experience after an episode of _One Tree Hill_.

By the time lunch rolled around, Santana had figured out the moronic social structure of McKinley High School. There were the obvious '_popular'_ kids, which comprised of the jocks and cheerleaders. And then there were the even more obvious '_unpopular'_ kids, which so happened to be made up of everyone else. Simply put, it pissed her off. Yeah, she was considered '_popular'_ at her old school but it wasn't anything like McKinley. There weren't really any cliques, no one was forced into a specific category just because they looked a certain way or had a certain hobby. Santana knew from the judgmental looks she'd been receiving since she first stepped foot into fourth period that she would be sorted into one of the two categories before the day's end. The final verdict was made before she had the chance to have her first lunch in the school cafeteria.

A hefty scoop of what could only be a mix between baby poop and wet dog food was plopped onto her tray. Santana lifted a finely sculpted eyebrow at the goop before glaring at the wart faced lunch lady. "What the fuck is this?"

The lunch lady seemed only slightly taken aback by the teen's question. It was clear no other student had the audacity to ever speak to her in such a manner. The barely there look of shock eased back into one of stony indifference. "Mystery meat. Don't like it, don't eat it."

"C'mon, Peggy." A smooth voice coaxed from behind Santana's right shoulder. She could smell his overbearing cologne before she heard his voice and could tell the encounter would not end well. "Cut the new girl some slack."

The lunch lady's features softened. A stain of pink Santana supposed was a blush etching itself across her saggy cheeks. "I'm not falling for your charms this time around, Noah Puckerman. Mystery meat's what's on the menu and mystery meat's what everyone's getting."

"Well," He slipped into the line next to Santana, a cocky grin at his lips and a lustful leer in his eyes. The jerk hadn't even bothered to hide the fact that he was blatantly checking her out. Not when he was practically talking to her breasts. "At least I tried."

The brunette rolled her eyes at the statement, brushing past him and heading for the line up of dessert. She was deciding between green jell-O with weird looking chucks in it or chocolate pudding when Noah Puckerman stepped back into her line of sight. Either not getting her _'fuck off'_ vibe or stupidly choosing to ignore it. Santana would put her money on the latter.

He slid a hand through his ridiculous mohawk, hazel eyes twinkling deviously. "I could take you someplace with real food."

"I'm pretty sure I won't like what's on the menu." She grabbed the chocolate pudding, setting it on her tray as she maneuvered around the boy once again.

"My Uncle owns a bar across town, gives me as much free booze as I want." He offered with a grin, clearly not the slightest bit deterred by her blatant disinterest. "We could-"

"Look," Santana snapped, dark glare boring into clueless hazel. "I'm sure this _'I'm going to annoy you until you give in to me_' bullshit works on most of the girls who've had the displeasure of holding your interest, but it isn't going to work on me. I'm _not_ interested. Now," She made a shooing motion. "Go find a girl that's dumb enough to fall for it."

The brunette nearly made it to the cash register before the annoying mohawked boy was suddenly standing in her way once again. His sleazy grin somehow seemed brighter and Santana couldn't help feeling as though their encounter would not end well at all.

"Pretend all you like, _mamacita_." He stepped closer to Santana, towering almost a full foot over her, and reached for a bottle of Gatorade on the shelf behind her. He was close enough for his warm breath to brush against her face. "No girl can ever resist the Puckster."

In all fairness, she _did_ warn the guy therefore by technicality it wasn't really _all_ her fault he was covered in the cafeteria mystery meat. Somewhere between his comically shocked expression and the ripple of '_ooo_'s and '_ahh_'s making their way across the cafeteria her mouth, as it usually did, started moving before she could even comprehend what she was going to say. "The '_Puckster'_ doesn't have the right _equipment_ to satisfy me."

* * *

To say her encounter with Noah Puckerman, the infamous bad boy and well known wannabe Casanova of McKinley High School, spread quickly around the entire school was an understatement. That shit spread like wildfire. By the end of fifth period Santana Lopez had already made a name for herself. A name she was very accustomed to hearing; _crazy dyke_. She should have expected as much from a shitty little school in the middle of Nowhereville. As it was, Santana had known she was gay for a very long time and was less than phased by the name-calling or dirty looks. Given, her old school had a zero tolerance policy as well as a more forward thinking student body. She was unsure McKinley had a single out gay student until she stumbled upon Kurt Hummel.

Imagine Santana's surprise when the quick witted, flamboyant boy had slipped his arm through hers the moment she entered her fifth period English class proclaiming them best gays. She could barely keep up with his excited chatter about starting a Gay Straight Alliance, who was totally in the closet, how horrible their English teacher's outfit was, and something called Glee Club. Which is possibly how Santana found herself stuffing books into her locker while her new and currently only friend, though he promised to introduce her to the entire Glee Club at the audition she'd never actually agreed to, asked her question after invasive question.

"So, I've been _dying_ to know. Is there a special lady in your life?" He arched a well managed eyebrow, a curious twinkling in his blue eyes.

The question had Santana freezing with her English textbook midway to her locker. Her features shifted rapidly from anguished to dazed to love struck. That was an extremely loaded question that she didn't have a real answer for. There was a 'special lady' in her life. Emphasis on the _was_.

"Ah, I see." The twinkle in his eyes shifted to playful upon seeing the brunette's reaction. "Is the lovely lady waiting patiently in California for your return?"

"Actually," In a rare moment of bashfulness, because she was a far cry from anything related to timid, a soft flush spread across her cheeks. Santana damned her own reaction as she noticed Kurt's widening smile. "I met her in California over the summer. She said she was from around here." She resisted the urge to look away from his imploring stare and fiddle nervously with the hem of her shirt, forcing her usual confidence into her voice and improvising a shrug she meant to display nonchalance. "Maybe you know her."

Kurt couldn't help his squeal of excitement at the prospect of Santana telling him all about her summer romance and with someone he might know. It was all too juicy. "Okay, if you don't tell me _everything_ right now I'm going to self combust from anticipation."

A soft giggle escaped Santana. Her confidence building at the look of earnest interest across his features. "I suppose I should put you out of your misery then. Her name is Brittany Pierce."

Kurt's face paled considerably, the excited look disappearing in an instant. "C-Come again?"

Santana's brows furrowed at the reaction. The boy looked as though she said she was a demon coming to rip his heart out and eat it whole. "Her name is Brittany. Brittany Pierce."

At that point Kurt seemed to be pretty close to having a panic attack. Before Santana could ask him if he was feeling okay she felt a soft tap on her shoulder accompanied by a very familiar sounding, "Hey."

The brunette turned around to find Brittany Pierce, in the flesh, standing before her. Staring at her with those breathtaking blue eyes of hers. Santana's face practically lit up the entire hallway. Stood before her was the girl of her dreams. The girl she'd spent the entire summer falling in love with. Her shining brown eyes took notice of the small group of girls flanking Brittany. She recognized that they were all wearing the school's cheerleading uniform. Her stare shifted questioningly back to Brittany whose expression was set somewhere between surprise, terror, and hesitation. She didn't get the chance to ask why, exactly, the entire Varsity cheerleading squad was standing behind Brittany and scowling at her because a very confusing thing happened. Brittany proceeded to dump a cup full of some kind of freezing liquid over her head and as the liquid began to sting her eyes, to make matters a million times worse, she could swear she heard the aforementioned girl of her freaking dreams call her a dyke.

Between the loud cackling of the evil uniformed drones who had obviously, as far as Santana's frantic mind could tell, forced Brittany to commit an extremely uncharacteristic act of cruelty and the queasy feeling in her gut she managed to wipe enough of the sting from her eyes to open them. By the time her blurry vision found Brittany, the blonde was half way down the hallway with the Cheerios in tow. All snickering and congratulating her. Leaving Santana gaping after Brittany, wondering what the fuck just happened.

Kurt steered the shell shocked brunette toward the girls restroom, grabbing a handful of paper towels and turning on the faucet. "Let's get you cleaned up."

"What… What the _hell_ was that! People in this town toss slushies as a way of greeting?!"

"No. Not _all_ of us, at least." Kurt offered her a sad smile, sighing in resignation before proceeding with a cautious explanation. "That was the head Cheerio publicly declaring you a freak."

"Head Cheerio?"

His cautious expression only worsened at the inquiry. "You, my friend, are in for a rude awakening. Are you sure you didn't meet some weird doppelganger that looks like Brittany and even has the same name as her but is totally out and proud and not a complete… well, bitch?"

Santana gaped at him. Never in a million years did she ever think she would hear someone refer to Brittany as a bitch. Half of her wanted to slap him for badmouthing _her_ Brittany while the other half of her wanted to hunt the blonde down and demand an explanation. "She never told me she was a cheerleader. I didn't even know she went to this school until she fucking tossed a slushie in my face."

"Oh, boy." Kurt took a huge breath, closing his eyes as he exhaled to steady his nerves. "Brittany Pierce is the most popular girl at this school. She's at the top of the heap. Cheerleading Captain, Class President, Junior Prom Queen. She's smart and not to mention drop dead gorgeous. Also a closet lesbian according to your summer romance story. And here comes the bad." He paused for dramatic effect, steadying Santana with an apologetic look. "She's the unpopular kids' worse nightmare. One time I wore the same scarf as her and she had the entire Varsity football team take turns throwing me into the dumpster behind the cafeteria _after_ lunch was over. It… gets worse." He placed a comforting hand on her shoulder. Even though he'd only known Santana Lopez for a little over two hours, he knew the bomb he was about to drop on her would likely crush her. It was obvious the brunette was in love with Brittany Pierce. "She has a boyfriend."

It was official. Life could not get any worse for her.

* * *

Santana pushed through the front door, eyes blazing and nerves jumping. She wanted to hit something, wanted to beat it to a damned bloody pulp. It figured that the one hope she actually held on to went and made a fool of her.

"Santana?" Her mother appeared in the doorway to the living room. "Where's your father?"

Santana shrugged, only vaguely aware of her mother's eyes on her as she continued down the hall toward the basement.

"How was school?" The interest in the older woman's voice only aided in further irritating the teen. "Did you make any new friends?"

"School was just _great_." Santana stopped in front of the door to the basement, whirling around to face her mother with a sarcastic smile. "I absolutely _loved_ getting slushied, the homophobic assholes at school were just fucking peachy, and I'm so _thrilled_ that you decided to move us to this shitty little town."

Not bothering to wait for a response, Santana swung the basement door open and tore down the stairs. Throwing her backpack across the room once she'd reached the bottom. The house they moved into was essentially the same as the one they had in Malibu, the only real difference being the shell it came in. The floor plan had the same basic design meaning her father's mostly unused (by him anyway) gym was still intact. She pulled off her stained t-shirt, revealing a tight spaghetti strap tank top underneath, and powered on the stereo. Turning the music up so loud she couldn't hear herself think. The beat thrummed through her, loosened her stiff posture as she made quick work of wrapping her hands. Her first swing at the heavy bag was all rage. Horribly executed. The impact sent a tingle up her arm. She followed with another swing and another and another and another. Ignoring the protesting ache of her shoulder. The songs changed, her punches weakening, a thin coat of sweat forming against her skin, the sting of pain at her shoulder worsening, and her rampant emotions deadening.

Santana continued on, taking her frustration out on the heavy bag and drowning her thoughts in the blaring music, until someone turned the stereo off. She took one last exasperated swing at the heavy bag before spinning around. Prepared to see her mother's stern expression and endure the following lecture. A deep scowl overtook her when she found Brittany standing next to the stereo, blue eyes pleading and a tentative smile at her lips.

It took less than a millisecond for Santana to get past the initial shock. "Get out."

"Santana let me explain. I didn't-"

"Explain?" Santana's fists clenched at her sides, her shoulders tensing. "You made it pretty clear earlier today." The words were a low, bitter snarl. "Don't worry, your summer secret is safe with me."

"You know that isn't-"

"I don't care. Just," Santana turned away from Brittany. She couldn't take that fucking look, the one that was practically begging for her forgiveness. The wonderful, amazing, life altering girl she'd met over the summer wasn't the same girl currently standing in her basement. "Leave me alone."

Brittany stared dejectedly at Santana's back. Never in a million years did she ever think she would see Santana again. She'd panicked at school. When she heard Santana talking to Kurt about her, when the brunette finally turned around to face her. Brittany had almost forgotten herself, had almost forgotten the stupid slushie in her hand. When Santana had smiled so openly at her, those brown eyes sparkling even in the crappy hallway lighting, Brittany had nearly forgotten what it was she was meant to do. She would give anything to go back to that moment. To toss the slushie on the ground, swoop Santana up in her arms, and kiss her until she couldn't feel her lips anymore.

The blonde turned toward the stairs, shoulders slumped. It was stupid of her to think Santana would want to have anything to do with her. It wasn't like she'd been completely honest with her during their time together. It wasn't like Brittany had made even the slightest effort to keep in touch with the brunette after her plane ride back to Ohio.

"Brittany?"

The girl in question froze halfway up the stairs. Her heart thumping and her hopes soaring. Maybe all wasn't lost. Maybe she could still fix things with Santana. "Yes?"

"Pull any of that shit again and I will end you."


	2. Set The Mood Prelude

**A/N: **

**I was debating whether or not to tell the story of their summer romance and then I was all why the hell not it'll be fun! Like a mini story inside of a long story! I'm not entirely sure _how_ long this entire story is going to be but with what I have in mind I'm estimating somewhere around 20-25 chapters. I started writing out their summer romance and I was like whoa 'cause the story kinda just wrote itself and I dunno what. I appreciate the awesome feedback so far and I hope you guys enjoy this rollercoaster ride of a story with me. **

**If anyone is interested I will be posting status updates and a few sneak peaks on tumblr. Here's the link: **

waffledynasty-fanfiction . tumblr . com

* * *

"C'mon, Britt!" Sam pounded on the bathroom door. What was it with girls and taking a ridiculously long time getting ready? He was glad his little sister Stacie was still more invested in mud pies to even start thinking about make up. Luckily, he would be out of the house and in college before she hit that age. "Quinn is gonna be here any minute and I have to shower!"

A teasing giggle came from inside the bathroom, Brittany's singsong voice following. "Not my fault you decided to play another round of Battlefield instead of getting prettied up for your girlfriend."

Sam groaned in pure exasperation, a hint of a whine infecting his voice. "Brriiitttaaannyyy! Seriously, you have no idea how awesome this girl is. How _hot_ this girl is. She's totally out of my league and if you ruin this for me I swear-"

"Jeez." Brittany pulled open the bathroom door, an easy smirk dancing at her lips. "You whine like a girl, Sammy."

As soon as the door opened, Sam shoved past the other blonde. Practically pushing her out of the bathroom before slamming the door shut behind him. "Do not!"

"Do too! And hey!" It was Brittany's turn to pound on the bathroom door. "I wasn't finished getting ready!"

Sam grinned toothily at the door as he started the shower. Oh, how the tables had turned. "Jeez, Britt! You whine like a girl."

Brittany rolled her eyes at the taunt, her arms settling over her chest and a soft pout pulling at her lower lip. She glared at the door before storming off with an irritated, "I _am_ a girl!"

Sam's chuckled _'coulda fooled me'_ had the blonde girl near scowling. All year long she looked forward to her summer visit to California. She was always so wrapped up in the awesome things she would get to do that she forgot about the downsides. Like sharing one bathroom with all three of her cousins. With a sigh, Brittany made her way toward the kitchen, intent on wasting the few minutes it would take Sam to get ready on finding a snack.

Right when she was about to take a bite out of the delicious sandwich she finished preparing, as luck would have it, the doorbell rang. Brittany huffed in annoyance as she stood from her perch. Giving the sandwich one last longing glance before making her way toward the door.

"Hi." Brittany grinned lazily at the pretty blonde girl that, for some unfathomable reason, had decided to grace Sam's doorstep with her presence.

The pretty blonde girl gave Brittany a once over. Her sharp hazel eyes taking in Brittany's attire, which consisted of a bright blue bikini that left very little to the imagination. "Who the hell are you?"

Brittany's eyes widened, a bit taken aback by the angry inquiry.

Sam chose that very moment to make an appearance. Wearing nothing but a towel wrapped loosely around his waist, grinning like a fool, and dangling Brittany's favorite pink polka dot bra in front of him. His tone taunting and green eyes glimmering with mischief. "Hey, Britt, I think you forgot something."

Simply put, to anyone who didn't know the two were related, the situation looked very bad. Quinn, the pretty blonde at the door, unfortunately fell into that category. Being the girlfriend of the boy who was dangling some random chick's bra like the cat that ate the canary, Quinn was fuming. "What the hell is going on here?"

"Oh," Brittany's confusion over the entire ordeal suddenly lifted. Her confused half grin turning into a beaming smile. Completely clueless to the other girl's train of thought. "_You're_ Quinn."

The recognition only served to make Quinn progressively more upset. "Again, who the hell are you and why is _my boyfriend_ holding your bra?"

Sam and Brittany both paled at the implication. Sam practically flung the offending garment as far away from him as possible while Brittany, on the verge of being physically ill, shrieked in mortification. "It isn't what you think!"

"Oh, really? Because I _think_ I just caught my soon to be _ex-boyfriend_ cheating on me with some little blonde bimbo and I _think_-"

"Babe!" Sam was blushing furiously. The queasy look on his face mirroring Brittany's almost exactly. "This is Brittany."

"My apologies," Quinn's furious features only gained a hint of incredulity, her tone practically dripping with sarcasm. "Some little blonde bimbo named _Brittany_."

"This _really_ isn't what you think it is." Brittany winced at the scathing glare of disbelief she received from the other girl. "I'm Brittany, Sam's cousin."

A few moments passed in tense silence with the trio glancing awkwardly at one another. Quinn's expression shifted comically between mistrust and absolute horror before finally settling upon an embarrassed flush. She arched a questioning brow at her boyfriend, voice measured. "Your cousin from Ohio?"

"Yeah, babe." Sam shrugged sheepishly and nodded in affirmation. His gaze shifting between a half amused, half perturbed looking Brittany to an increasingly humiliated looking Quinn. "This is my cousin Brittany from Ohio."

"Well." Quinn cringed at the severity of her mistake. "Now I feel like a total bitch."

"Aww." In a suave move that had Sam scowling at his cousin, Brittany wrapped an arm around Quinn's shoulders. Completely ignoring both the heated glare she was receiving from her cousin and the suspicious stare from Quinn. "Don't worry about it." Brittany gave the other blonde a smirk, sapphire eyes shifting distractedly over Quinn's figure in a leer so lecherous it would put Noah Puckerman to shame. "I'm sure you'll find a way to make it up to me."

Quinn nearly blanched at the suggestive undertone of her boyfriend's _female_ cousin's words. All types of people had hit on her in many suave, obnoxious, and oftentimes ridiculous ways but Brittany was something else. Quinn could safely say a female relative of the guy she was dating had never blatantly hit on her right in front of the guy she was dating. Sam, on the other hand, had his fair share of Brittany outright flirting with girls in front of him. A lot of the time with girls he was actually into. He understood what Lima was like, he spent more than half his life there up until the point his mom decided to pick up and move out to California. He understood why Brittany took their shared summer vacation to unleash her inner lesbian horndog but, seriously? Did she have to hit on his girlfriend right in front of him? His thoughts were interrupted by Quinn's breathy giggle.

The pretty blonde swatted playfully at Brittany's arm, a flirty little half smile playing at her lips. Despite how uptight her obnoxious best friend constantly accused her of being, Quinn wasn't a complete prude. She could appreciate the fact that a woman, a pretty hot one at that, was hitting on her. And so what if she liked the attention. "You're cute."

Okay. Sam was about 99.9% sure his girlfriend shouldn't be flirting back.

* * *

Brittany nodded along to the beat of the music coming from the large headphones covering her ears, her eyes were closed and there was an easy smirk playing at her lips. Every few seconds she would unconsciously move her body along with the beat, unable to prevent herself from feeling the music in her bones. Rushing through her veins. Thrumming inside every fiber of her being. Her striking blue eyes flickered open as the song came to an end and she leaned against the brick wall behind her. Still moving with the fading beat of music.

The sound of a throaty chuckle caught Brittany's attention and she noticed the sudden figure leaning against the wall a few feet away from her. The first thing she noticed were boobs because... _boobs_. It took another chuckle from the other woman for Brittany to tear her gaze away from the delicious cleavage on display. The next thing she noticed was the amused curl of a smirk at full, kissable lips. Then she was staring (drowning more like it) into impossibly dark brown eyes. And, oh boy, the look this chick was giving her was seriously the sexiest thing on the planet because at that moment the brunette was pulling a plump bottom lip between her bright white teeth and staring up at Brittany with those twinkling brown eyes through long eyelashes and smoky eye makeup and Brittany's foggy head faintly recognized that the expression across the goddess' face was one of mild amusement.

A wide, goofy smile slid across Brittany's lips as she pulled her headphones from her ears and nodded at the brunette in greeting. "Sup."

For a brief moment the goddess' dark gaze flickered over Brittany's figure. Greedily devouring those long toned legs, barely covered by the shortest pair of shorts she'd ever seen. Her amusement intensified as her assessment of the pretty blonde continued. She took in the cute rainbow suspenders and the almost see through top the blonde was sporting. The smirk across her pouty lips acquired a wolfish quality as her twinkling eyes finally reconnected with striking blue. "Nice moves."

"Thanks." A hint of a blush crawled across Brittany's cheeks and her thumbs hooked onto the straps of her suspenders, tugging anxiously at the material. The way the other woman looked at her, those dark eyes almost caressing every inch of her body. Brittany decided the goddess was most definitely checking her out and the thought of it was enough to garner a blush from the blonde. She errantly recognized the churning in the pit of her stomach as nervousness. This beautiful woman was making her nervous which was totally uncalled for seeing as she was used to people flirting with her. But this woman was a goddess and… wait, was she even flirting with Brittany at all? What if Brittany was reading the signals all wrong? What if this beautiful woman just wanted to be friends? She could do friends. Yeah, Brittany's gaze dropped to the brunette's cleavage once more, friends. Totally.

Brittany was once again snapped out of her cleavage induced daze by a sexy chuckle. "Not that I mind since you make this really cute face every time you stare at my tits, but my eyes are up here."

The comment forced the hint of a blush at Brittany's cheeks to spread over her entire face. She felt like her face was on fire and the amusement she found in those too dark eyes only served to worsen her heated flush. "I... sorry... they're just so, um, did I already say I was sorry?"

"Mmhm." The dark haired goddess took a step closer, closing the distance between them and sending Brittany's head spinning. They were so close that she could smell the other woman's perfume and holy hell Brittany was sure she was going to pass out from their proximity alone. The caramel skinned goddess' gaze landed on the large headphones hanging around the blonde's neck, a single brow arching inquisitively when their eyes reconnected. "What were you listening to, stranger?"

In a rush of embarrassment the blonde unhooked one of her thumbs from her suspender strap and offered it to the brunette. The stranger comment made her feel embarrassed by her own manners. Here she was getting caught staring at this gorgeous woman's chest and practically falling all over herself yet they hadn't properly introduced themselves. She really wanted to know this woman's name. She'd probably die happy if she did. "Brittany Pierce."

"Pleased to meet you, _Brittany_."

When their hands touched Brittany almost died. The feel of the brunette's hand in hers sent a current running through her. Starting at the sudden spark at her fingertips, jolting a tingling path up her arm, and settling somewhere beneath her ribcage. Her heart was hammering, her stomach fluttering and her head spinning all from a simple handshake. Her reaction rendered all comprehensible thought useless. Rendered any and all responses pushing at the back of her throat completely useless. And when the goddess smiled at her, that throaty chuckle and amused twinkle in those too dark eyes only served to further reduce Brittany into a pile of mush.

"It looks like my ride is here." The brunette retracted her hand from the frozen blonde. She was starting to think she might've broken her when Brittany didn't respond. She offered a teasing smirk as she backed away, still so very amused by the cute blonde. She was halfway to her ride when she called out one last time. "I'll be seeing you, _Brittany_."

The way the brunette said her name, like she was tasting every syllable, sent a delectable shiver coursing down Brittany's spine. Snapped her out of her daze and propelled her into motion. She took a few jogging steps closer to the still retreating, still smirking brunette. The anxious tremble in her voice sounding almost nothing like her at all. "Wait! You didn't tell me your name."

The amusement in those dark eyes only seemed to intensify. The brunette shrugged, stopping at the door to the very expensive looking sports car Brittany was wishing she wouldn't get into. "You didn't ask."

And then she was gone, slipping into the car and disappearing behind tinted windows. Disappearing with the loud rumble of the engine and the fading sound of tires screeching against concrete.

"Hey, Britt!" Sam emerged from the building with a massive grin. "Guess what."

Brittany ignored the boy; her blue eyes glued to the corner the goddess had disappeared behind. "I think I just met the girl of my dreams."

Sam scoffed at the comment. He shook his head of shaggy blonde hair, arms crossing over his chest and a fond sort of disbelief shining in his green eyes. "Every other girl you meet is the girl of your dreams. Which reminds me, stop hitting on my girlfriend."

"Thats cute, Sammy." The reminder of Quinn Fabray, Sam's super hot girlfriend had Brittany grinning. "You're saying that like you think I'm actually going to stop."

"Not cool, dude." The verbal response didn't match the ridiculously huge grin on his face. "Especially since I got us invited to an awesome party tomorrow night."

At the mention of a party, Brittany snapped out of her daze. Her blue eyes reluctantly leaving the corner her mystery girl had disappeared behind and settling curiously upon her cousin. "A party you say?"

"Yep. A totally _awesome_ party."

"And how did you find out about this awesome party?"

"I ran into one of Quinn's friends inside the shop and she, uh, kind of invited me... I think." Sam rubbed at the back of his neck, brows furrowed in confusion. "I should probably call Quinn about it later. Just to be 100% sure." He hadn't known Santana for very long and his brief conversations with her always seemed to leave him completely unsure of where he stood with her. Especially since she tended to give him a new (for lack of a better term) _nickname_ every time they spoke. The least offensive name she addressed him by was probably Trouty Mouth. It sure as hell was better than Vagina Lips or Guppy Face. And he guessed working at the only shop Santana trusted enough to repair her precious motorcycle won him at least some points. Which reminded him... "Right now your favorite cousin is going to teach you how to ride a motorcycle."

Brittany scrunched her nose in mild distaste. She knew Sam had gotten super into motorcycles the summer before and she was totally happy for him when he started working at an auto shop but the thought of getting on a bike had her cringing. "Or my favorite cousin ever can take me to the beach instead. You know, because that's what awesome cousins do."

"Nice try. Here," He fixed her with an overly bright smile and handed her the helmet he had tucked under his arm. "You're gonna need this."

* * *

The party was loud and hot and crowded and nothing at all like Lima's lame makeshift backyard bonfires, the cheap warm beer, and the scrutinizing stares from the entire varsity cheerleading team. Brittany was accustomed to wearing her Cheerios uniform like some kind of status symbol to any and every social gathering. She was used to her entourage of bitchy cheerleaders following her around, watching her every move, and pretending they wouldn't stab her in the back if the opportunity arose. Brittany was especially used to the unwanted attentions from whatever guy had built up the courage to approach her and the subsequent flirting she was forced to respond to. But she didn't want to think about life back in Lima. Not when she had a hot brunette gyrating against her, meeting every beat of the thudding bass with a well executed body roll. Not when the alcohol induced buzzing of her brain was urging her to leave her worries for another day. No, she didn't want to think about all of the expectations that came with being small town popular. She didn't want to think at all. She only wanted to enjoy the rest of her summer before finishing her final year at McKinley. Before having to fake her way to graduation pretending to be a girl she hardly recognized.

"Found you." A rush of warm, alcohol scented breath crashed against the side of Brittany's face and she cringed. A possessive arm curled around her waist from behind, pulling her away from the hot chick she was dancing with. The hot chick disappeared into the crowd as Brittany spun around unsteadily to face the bane of her existence, hazy blue eyes squinted and cheeks flushed a pretty intoxicated pink. Sure, Ryder Lynn was arguably attractive and he could be pretty sweet when he wasn't being a douchebag but he insisted on being a total clam jam any time Brittany found a hot girl to hook up with which was so not ok with her. Brittany had been hoping beyond hope that she wouldn't run into him over the summer because (despite Brittany telling him she was so gay she practically barfed up rainbows) he couldn't digest the fact that she wasn't interested.

"Oh," Brittany eased herself out of his hold, ignoring the frown the action put across his face. "Hey, Ryder." She gestured toward the area the hot chick had disappeared and took a step away from the blond boy. "I'm just going to go find my, uh, friend."

"If you're looking for a new dance partner," He chuckled and grabbed a hold of her hand before she could get away. A wide, charming smile plastered across his lips. "I'm available."

Brittany was sure that if she were even remotely interested in him she would be swooning. His smile and suggestive tone only made her queasy. She giggled unconvincingly and spared another glance at her escape route, took another step toward retreat.

"Come on, babe." His charming smile shifted into a crooked grin and his brown eyes trailed languidly along Brittany's figure. Lingering at her long legs and bare midriff in a manner that had her skin crawling in the worst of ways. "I can show you a better time than that chick."

"I'm actually kinda thirsty so..."

Without finishing the sentence, Brittany made a mad dash toward her escape. The pure need to get as far away as physically possible from Ryder and his relentless flirting spurred her forward, propelling her through the crowd until she found herself outside of the huge mansion and onto the sandy beach. She ignored Ryder's calls and sped further onto the beach. Only stumbling to a stop when she could no longer hear the sound of music and chatter. When she could barely make out the shape of a lifeguard tower in front of her. She stumbled drunkenly toward the blurry outline all the while struggling with the pockets of her too tight shorts in a futile attempt to get to her cell phone. When she finally got a hold of the slippery little bastard, pulling the device out and holding it triumphantly in the air, her victory whoop was heavily overshadowed by a loud grunting noise. A grunting noise coming from the thing she was stepping on. It was at that moment that Brittany realized maybe running out onto the dark deserted beach all alone wasn't so great an idea. The realization was accompanied by a girlish squeal of terror and the blonde going into horror movie panic mode. While continuing to scream, Brittany waved her hands in the air maniacally and stomped on the squishy grunting thing once again.

"Ow!" The squishy grunting thing turned into a squishy talking thing. "What the actual fuck!" A squishy swearing thing that was suddenly holding her foot in a desperate attempt to avoid another painful stomping session and-

"Oh my god you're a sand person!" Brittany's features contorted in mild panic, blue eyes shifting from frightened to concerned. Ever since Sam made her watch that one movie about the alien knights because she didn't understand his geek speak she had been deathly afraid of accidentally running into one on the beach. She still hadn't perfected the weird howl Ewan McGregor did to scare away the sand people. "Please don't be dead sand person!"

"What the hell," The sand person let go of Brittany's foot to sit up properly. "Is a sand person?"

Brittany's brows furrowed, squinted sapphire orbs peering down curiously. She held out her nearly forgotten cell phone, lighting up the screen and aiming it at the figure in the sand. As her eyes adjusted to the change in lighting she could make out a clearly female, clearly gorgeous brunette. Could easily identify the cascade of long dark hair, the splash of red at full lips, and the gentle swell of breasts. Brittany's worried frown twitched into a salacious smirk as her gaze settled upon some pretty awesome cleavage. Her mouth was moving before she even realized she was going to speak. "It's _you_!"

The dark haired goddess paused mid swig, settling her bottle of expensive tequila on the sand at her side. Her charcoal colored eyes met sparkling sapphire, recognition taking over her features. A cocky grin slipped across her full lips, her dark gaze raking over Brittany's figure just as she'd done the first time they met. Her voice a playful, seductive rasp. "Are you stalking me?"

"Define stalking." Brittany took Santana's playful response as an open invitation to plop down next to the other woman. Completely disregarding the brunette's arched brow. Further ignoring the incredulous stare she received when snatching the other woman's drink out of her hands and taking a healthy swig. The burn of the bitter amber liquid searing its way down her throat had her gagging and handing the bottle back. "Ew, gross. What is that?"

Santana chuckled at the blonde's antics. Normally she would be chewing the chick to fucking pieces for stepping on her and invading her space uninvited but something about Brittany Pierce had her attention. Had her feeling more at ease than she had in a long while. "Didn't your parents teach you it's dangerous to take things from strangers, _Brittany_?"

Then sound of the brunette's throaty chuckle, the familiar velvet rasp of that voice caused Brittany to do a double take. No way. What were the odds of her randomly running into the goddess from yesterday? She struggled for something suave and suggestive and charming to say. She wouldn't blow it with the girl of her dreams for the second time. No, this time she was going to get this beautiful woman's name. The shock of coming face to face with the other woman evaporated, an impish smirk playing across Brittany's lips. "Are you trying to tell me you're dangerous?"

Santana grinned wolfishly, her dark eyes dancing along Brittany's figure predatorily. "Are you implying I'm not?"

"Well, you haven't asked me to help you find your lost puppy or lured me into your creepy van with candy." Brittany leaned back with her hands propped behind her back and her arms stretched out in front of her. Her twinkling gaze focused on the brunette's roaming eyes, her stomach fluttering once their gazes locked. "And, once you tell me your name you technically won't be a stranger anymore."

"What makes you so confident," Santana was drawn in by the playful gleam in those too blue eyes, by the crackling chemistry between them. By the mix of her intoxicated buzzing brain and the undeniable pull inside of her urging her to move that little bit closer to the blonde. To cross that tiny bridge between playful flirting to blatant propositioning. Being Santana Lopez and very used to taking anything she wanted, the brunette found herself straddling Brittany. Her face dipping closer and closer and closer toward the blonde's. Barely a breath away as her fingertips trailed down along the Brittany's arms. "That I'm going to tell you my name?"

The sudden action had Brittany dazed, her entire body buzzing from the closeness and the heat. She could feel every burst of hot breath bursting against her lips, the harsh smell of alcohol mixing with something sweet and indistinguishable, mixing with the scent of the brunette in her lap. Could feel that scorching trail of fingertips running up and down her arms and leaving the most delectable tingles in their wake. Could feel the press of bare thighs against her hips, the drag of fingers up the back of her neck and the scratch of nails against her scalp. Her voice came out in an awed, unsteady rasp of breath. "Just a good feeling."

"A feeling, huh?" The words were accompanied by yet another chuckle, by lips grazing tauntingly at the corner of Brittany's mouth. "I've got a pretty good feeling too, _Brittany_."

Brittany's head was so ridiculously fuzzy. Her vision hazy from dilated pupils and hooded lashes. She sucked in a sharp breath of air at the sound of her name from the brunette's full lips. The only response she could force her dizzy head and buzzing body to give was a quietly husked, "Oh?"

"_Mmhm_." Santana practically moaned against the blonde. Their proximity had her sweating, had her heart racing in her ears and her mouth begging her to discover the taste of Brittany's lips. To uncover the texture of Brittany's skin against her tongue. "I have a feeling that, once I tell you my name, it'll be the only thing you'll be able to say for the rest of the night."

The statement had Brittany's already malleable mind turning to complete goo. Or maybe it was the fact that the brunette's lips had left the corner of her mouth to press fully against hers. Yeah, that had to be to cause of her liquefied brain because, _oh my god_, Brittany had never in ever been kissed like the goddess was kissing her. Like she was savoring every millisecond, memorizing every little sensation, and indulging in each and every brush of their lips. Brittany felt as though her skin had been set aflame, the delicious burn of desire devouring her. She could barely believe that the sounds polluting their shared air like whispered want were coming from her own mouth. "_Please_."

"Santana." Santana struggled to breathe. Those dark, sapphire eyes met hers without constraint and the brunette could feel her own gaze darkening at what she found in those alluring depths. Could feel herself gasp as Brittany's fingertips brushed against her cheek. Leaving tingles in their wake. "My name is Santana."


End file.
